Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... the quite-sprawling King Ranch, to be exact. Founded in 1853, King Ranch's operations extend beyond its original 825,000 Texan cattle-raising acres. The ranch is still home to cattle and horses, of course. However, King Ranch oversees considerable farming interests in its home state and elsewhere (cotton, sorghum, sod, citrus, pecans, vegetables, and cane sugar). It also has various retail operations (hardware, designer saddles and other leather goods, publishing, and printing). In addition, King Ranch also beefs up revenues with tourist dollars from birdwatchers, hunters, and sightseers who visit its Texas ranch lands. The descendants of founder Richard King own King Ranch.